


Stupid Feelings Brought on by New Desks (And Old Crushes)

by umaspirateship



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: Gil goes to Auradon, Happy Ending, Multi, OT3, different pov each chapter, evil plans gone good, gil-centric, uma-centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-21
Updated: 2017-11-16
Packaged: 2018-12-18 03:22:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11865612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/umaspirateship/pseuds/umaspirateship
Summary: The last person Ben brings over to Auradon is Gil. Gil, unhappy about leaving Harry behind and having lost Uma somewhere in the ocean, refuses to talk.He sits behind his desk in his dorm room, the only place where he can find peace and quiet. It gives him some time to think.





	1. Gil

_Gil sat at his new desk._

 

He’d never had a desk before, but the smooth wood reminded him of the way the ship’s walls felt when he reached out to steady himself during a storm.

 

_On the desk, there was a lamp._

 

Back home, after his dad had kicked him out again or Uma had decided she couldn’t deal with his stupidity anymore, he liked to sleep near the docks. The Isle was pitch-black at night, but from the edge of the water, he could see Auradon glowing in the distance.

 

_Sometimes, Ben would set a piece of paper in front of him and tell him, “Come back to class when you’re ready. We miss you.”_

 

Gil hadn’t said a word since the limo had arrived in Auradon. He was pretty sure Ben did not miss him the way he missed Harry and Uma.

 

_The paper, supposedly, was homework._

 

On the Isle, Gil hadn’t gone to school. He’d skipped classes so he could train. So he could finally become worthy of his father’s love. He never was, and even when he’d found the pirate crew he was never as threatening as Harry or as powerful as Uma. Long story short, he couldn’t read, but he recognized five words well enough.

 

_The desk had five words carved into its skin. When he ran his fingers over it, he felt more at ease and he could finally breathe. “We Ride With the Tide.”_

 

Gil had always thought it was a silly motto, given that their ship had been wrecked after that whole trident fiasco, but it reminded him of when he used to be helpful. Of the smile on Uma’s face when he’d glued her necklace back together, piece by piece, after everyone else had lost hope.

 

_Sometimes, the desk would be dotted with tears._

 

Uma had always called him weak. He hadn’t known why, back then. But now he knew.

 

_Gil sat at his desk. Sometimes he’d sit there for hours. He never said anything, just watched the trees outside the window sway in the wind. He couldn’t see the ocean from here._

 

When he was in the limo, the driver informed him that he was “glad to be done driving you lot” and that “miss Evie has finally finished clearing off that dratted list.” Gil glanced back and could still see Harry in the harbor, growling and chasing after the limo. Alone. Uma was still missing, lost somewhere in the ocean.

 

_Nobody ever visited him, when he sat at his desk. Only Ben, with his sad eyes and his lips perpetually turned into a confused frown, bothered to talk to him. At first, he’d tried to fit in. He went to Tourney games and attended Goodness 101 classes and watched school plays. Maybe, if he was good enough, they’d believe him when he said that Harry was good too._

 

Still, he couldn’t bring himself to say anything.

 

_He had a phone in his pocket. It only had two numbers. Ben’s, of course, and Queen Belle’s, who’d been sympathetic to his childhood being raised as Gaston’s son._

 

There was no cell connection on the Isle. No way he could call Harry.

 

_He didn’t go to class anymore, obviously. Nobody was going to expel him, and they were all too nice to physically drag him out of his room. He couldn’t stay there forever, they reasoned. They were wrong._

 

In his head, Gil reasoned that he could wait an eternity for Uma. He would wait. She and Harry were worth it.

 

_It was November, and Gil sat at his desk with a puzzle that he’d stolen from the lounge. It had one thousand pieces and was a painting of a pretty sunset setting over the Auradon horizon. Putting it together made him feel at peace. Or at piece. He enjoyed the pun._

 

_It was November, and the leaves rattled at the window. A bird, or something about the same size and weight as a bird, hit his window with a loud thump. He looked up from the desk, expecting to see the same view he had seen for the past four months, only more dark and gray, as Auradon seemed to get in the autumn months. Instead, he saw a dark figure holding a stuffed animal. His stuffed animal, Dearie. It was, as the name suggested, a stuffed deer. Gil quickly realized that it had been the object thrown at the window, and he stood up in exasperation._

 

_Now that he was standing, he had a full view of the lawn. He realized that he’d left Dearie on the Isle. He realized that the tall, handsome, grinning figure was_ Harry. _Harry, looking as mad and lovely as Gil remembered. He glanced back at his door, wondering if he should head down. When he glanced back, Harry was gone._

 

It figured that Gil would have no luck. It was an illusion, obviously, Gil figured after he was unable to find any sign that the dashing pirate was, in fact, in Auradon, and not on the shipwrecked _Revenge_ waiting for, well, revenge.

 

_Gil sat back down at his desk and turned back to his puzzle. He felt the weight of the phone in his pocket. If it_ was _Harry, Ben would have texted him about it. He sighed and turned on the phone. At least this way he would know. The phone immediately lit up with thirteen missed calls, all from an unknown number. But no messages from Ben. It was probably Evie or Carlos or Jay, or even Mal, trying to make him feel at home. Just as he went to put the phone away, it started to ring. Gil jumped._

 

He’d never heard a phone ring before. After receiving this one from Ben, he’d immediately turned it off. And, given the lack of cell reception on the Isle, he hadn’t had one there either.

 

_He decided to answer the call but didn’t say anything. Just held the phone against his ear and listened._

 

_It was Uma._

 

“ _Gil!” she shouted, more concerned than angry, “You better come out of your dorm room and downstairs right now or I am going to confiscate your hat collection!”_

 

He’d had to leave his hats on the Isle, but Uma hadn’t been there for that. He chuckled softly to himself. Obviously, it wasn’t softly enough.

 

“ _I can hear you laughing! They won’t let me upstairs because we’re armed and dangerous, which is, frankly, ridiculous. There’s this one girl carrying a bag full of ten swords in the lobby right now.”_

 

Lonnie. He laughed a little harder, unable to stop himself.

 

“ _Gil, sweetie,” hummed a new voice. Harry. “Come downstairs. We’ve got Dearie, and we’ve brought your hats. Plus, King Ben is hosting a feast to commemorate Uma’s “turn to good.””_

 

_He could hear Uma laughing at that. “They’re just glad that when I used my magic to break down the Isle I only used it to rescue the kids on our crew. Evie did a pretty good job with her list, but she left out the pirates because we kidnapped Ben. A little hypocritical, but whatever. We’re free, and I heard the feast has your favorite food.”_

 

Most people thought his favorite food was eggs since he ate them so much. Really, he saw eggs more like the pushups he did while Uma and Harry were in class. He didn’t particularly like them, but he had to eat them to make his father happy.

 

“ _Yeah, Gil,” added Harry, “You heard that right. I can smell the meat cooking from here.”_

 

Drat it. Ham. His weakness.

 

_Gil hung up the phone and ran out of the room. At first, he tried to convince himself he was only excited at the prospect of delicious food, but who was he kidding. Harry and Uma were waiting for him in the lobby._

 

_He reached the top of the stairs and immediately realized they weren’t the only ones. Ben, and King Adam and Queen Bell, and Lonnie, and Mal, Jay, Carlos, and Evie, and Doug, and Chad, and Audrey, and seemingly every other member of the student body had crowded into the lobby to catch a glimpse of the commotion._

 

_Uma and Harry growled at the crowd when they saw Gil freeze at the top of the stairs. They dropped the suitcases they were carrying and rushed towards him, shoving princes and princesses out of the way, breaking a few nails and causing general chaos. It was just like home._

 

_Gil stood at the top of the stairs and awkwardly tried to descend them, his legs shaking nervously. When he saw Harry and Uma heading towards him, he was so surprised by how_ real _and how_ beautiful _they were that he tripped._

_Right into their arms._

 

“ _Gil,” Uma whispered, “I’ve been looking for you.”_

_  
Harry sighed happily, dropping his hook onto the ground so he could hold Gil tighter. “The Isle was terrible without you.”_

 

Gil looked at their eyes. Their expressions seemed new, like Auradon magically allowed them to love him for the first time, but they still had elements of the past. Of the childhood they had shared. Of the kidnapping and the celebrations and the defeat, and the songs and moments of silence they’d shared watching the Isle fall asleep. It felt right.

 

_Gil opened his mouth and spoke for the first time since he’d left the Isle, shouting “Harry!” over the growling of the wind until his voice grew hoarse._

 

“ _I missed you so much,” Gil said, ignoring the whispers coming from the students crowding at the base of the stairs._

 

“ _We know,” Harry and Uma replied, their eyes shining brighter than any stupid desk lamp._

 

_And Gil smiled._

 


	2. Uma

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Uma tries to cheer Gil up.

_Uma stood on the deck of their ship, which she had raised into the waters herself with sheer willpower alone. Its holes were patched with bits of enchanted seaweed and its make-shift seashell anchor held them in the harbor._

     Staring out at Auradon, now that they were finally here, was hard. After the mess with Gil, Ben had let them all stay on their ship, but that didn’t help with this sense of, of, listlessness. Purposelessness. She didn’t have to tie herself to this place, but she wasn’t really anchored anywhere, she just drifted like a piece of seaweed through the currents. Watching Auradon just reminded her that she’d never have a home here.

_Behind her, Gil leaned against an empty rum barrel and read a children’s book, muttering the syllables under his breath and running his hands across the page. She watched him read, smiled when he got stuck on a word, and somehow found her feet leading her over to him._

     He didn’t ask her for help, found it hard to speak ever since he left the Isle, but Uma knew what he was asking.

_“Compassion,” she said, drawing her nail across the word patiently. “It figures it’d confuse you, it’s an Auradon word.”_

     Dratted compassion. It’s what got her here, instead of conquering the world like she could have been. But she’d revealed her weakness when she’d gone after her crew, Harry, Gil… If she tried anything, they’d go after them first.

_“What’s it mean,” he whispered, leaning against her shoulder._

     Love, love in action.

_“It’s the reason I wanted to get everyone off the Isle, then did something about it. As opposed to sympathy, where Ben just… felt bad. Kind of like, your pain is my pain, so I’m going to do something to help you.”_

_Gil nodded and turned back to his book._

     He seemed so fragile, these days. He used to be the toughest, the best muscle on the Isle. He would give anything to protect her, had never seen her ask weak. Didn’t even understand why being called Shrimpy made her so angry. After he’d come here, he’d lost the grin which had always managed to make her forgive him. Uma tried to steady herself in anger at Auradon for messing with his head.

_Uma could feel her magic crackling underneath her skin when she breathed. It pressed against her ribcage and crowded against her heart. She saw Harry heading off the ship to go find them some lunch. Right as he reached the piece of wood that tied them to Auradon, Harry glanced back and sent them a concerned look. Uma nodded, feeling how anxious he was but unable to reassure him. Moving her hair over her shoulder, she glanced back towards Gil and sighed._

     She was going to do something to help him, damn it all, if it was the last thing she did.

_So, every free period, she would stalk around campus, stomping her feet and looking for a sign._

     It was the only time she didn’t spend with Harry and Gil. Harry was in advanced seafaring that hour and Gil in advanced arithmetic. Gil had scored surprisingly high on the make-shift placement test, although it wasn’t _that_ surprising when you considered the amount of eggs-to-income calculations he had to do in his head on the Isle. The only advanced classes Uma could have gotten into were advanced scheming or advanced spellcasting. Neither were offered in Auradon, unfortunately.

     _It happened serendipitously. Uma was stalking across the grass, enraged, like usual, by something they had said in Introductory Auradonian Governments._

     She had gotten into an argument with the teacher over the inability of the Auradon Government to effectively research its laws and proposals, and the fact that all the so-called “experts” had no formal education at all in the subjects they influenced! She wouldn’t even attend the class if it wasn’t part of the deal. She’d attend six classes of their choice, and her crew would get food, if she did her homework, they’d be allowed extracurriculars. It wasn’t fair, but the establishment claimed that kidnapping the king was more than reason for preventing kids from eating.

_Sure. Whatever. She -_

     Running into someone (even if they are relatively skinny) while power-walking at top speed (especially when you were rather skinny yourself) is rather painful.

_Uma immediately reached for her sword but it wasn’t there. Backing up, she realized she had run into Carlos, who’d been running across the lawn himself._

_“Where are you going so fast?” she scowled, “Shouldn’t you be in class? Or in the computer lab or something?”_

_“I was,” Carlos said, trying to slowly inch away, “But Dude ran out of the room when I wasn’t looking. I was chasing after him. Can I go now? Yes? Okay.”_

_He ran off, quickened by both how far he was behind Dude and by how scary Uma looked when ruffled._

     Uma didn’t particularly care for dogs. They liked barking and showing off, they were far too affectionate, and they were fluffy. But she wasn’t out to get Dude (or Carlos for that matter). In fact, seeing the campus mutt had reminded her of someone. A golden-haired, affectionate, rather cute someone.

     _Her attempt to kidnap the dog for her own overeager companion did not go as planned. Fairy Godmother, for all her incompetency, had managed to be in exactly the wrong place at the wrong time. Carlos (and Dude) had been sitting in the school garden. Carlos was focusing on eating his lunch while he read “the future of self-driving cars” and did math on a scrap of paper next to him. It was the perfect opportunity to steal the dog – he was unguarded, distracted, and was (thankfully) no longer able to talk to warn Carlos. But, before she could approach, she was stopped by a voice in the bushes._

_“Hello, dear,” said Fairy Godmother, lowering her wand. “How have you been settling in? Have you eaten yet? It’s important for growing teens to get three full meals a day.”_

     (Unless you were a “growing teen” living on the Isle, then you could get, at best, a single meal composed of moldy bread and slop. Even if you worked in a restaurant, like Uma had.)

    _“No, I haven’t eaten yet,” Uma grinned, “I’ve been too busy terrorizing small children I haven’t had time to take a break.”_

_“What? I have half a mind to –”_

_“Kidding, Fairy G, kidding. I was actually on my way to go get Dude. Carlos wanted me to babysit him today. You know how it is, he’s busy with some work for Robotics and he just doesn’t have the time to take the little guy on a walk.”_

_“Oh, of course. Carlos is such a sweet kid. Did you know he is dating my daughter?”_

As if. Sure, Jane was super pretty, but both she and Carlos had eyes for someone a bit more… athletic. Uma couldn’t judge (she was, after all, completely and utterly loyal to Harry and Gil, and they certainly weren’t lacking in muscles).

     _“But you already knew that, I’m sure. I’ll call Carlos over for you, sweetheart. Carlos!”_

Carlos glanced up, saw Uma, and immediately shut his book and started shoving things in his bag.

     _“Wait, Carlos, I wanted to ask you about Dude!” Uma said, jogging over towards him and smiling._

_“…What about Dude?”_

_“Like his favorite treats and games and stuff. If I’m going to babysit him today I need to know the basics.” She glanced back at Fairy Godmother, hoping she was convincing. Fairy Godmother had started smiling and was turning around, returning to… removing red paint off the roses? Weird._

_“I don’t remember asking you to babysit Dude,” Carlos muttered, “It doesn’t sound like something I would do.”_

_“Don’t you remember?” Uma prodded, placing her hand on his shoulder, “Gil has never met a dog before, and you are so busy with classes. And I agreed to let you on the ship to do those tests you wanted, don’t you remember?”_

_Carlos’ eyes lit up, but he glanced towards Dude reluctantly. He didn’t trust her not to hurt him. “Yeah, I remember, but I’m worried because I don’t think you know anything about taking care of dogs.”_

_“Wasn’t he the campus mutt? How much taking care of does he need?”_

_“You’d be surprised,” Carlos muttered, glancing at Dude prancing around in the grass in his matching outfit._

_“Well, what about Gil? Would you trust me to watch him if Gil was there?”_

_Carlos shrugged, “I guess he seems pretty trustworthy. He and Harry are in my Intro to Vehicle Maintenance class. Plus, he came to a couple tourney games last semester. Doesn’t talk much though.”_

_“Trust me, I’m aware,” Uma scowled._

_Carlos glanced up, surprised. “Wait, you’re doing this for Gil? Why?”_

_“Didn’t you see how talkative and happy he was on the Isle? Auradon broke him, and that dirty dog seemed to fix you, so I figured, maybe it could do the same for him.”_

_“You should have said so,” Carlos smiled, “Dude would love to go meet Gil. And you’re right, I do have a lot of work to do. Still holding you to the science experiment promise, though!” He laughed, finger-gunned in her direction, and sprinted towards the science lab._

_Uma glanced at where Dude was sniffing some flowers and sighed, “Come on, little beast.”_

     And, despite the trouble of having to play nice (and let a stranger on her ship), it was worth it when she saw the look on Gil’s face when he played fetch with Dude. It even made Harry happy.

     _“Uma,” he said, placing the notebook he had been writing in to the side, “I know it was hard to play nice, but you did the right thing.”_

_Uma smiled, “I know. Should we join him? Wouldn’t want to get out of shape.” She shoved Harry in the side teasingly and they were off, chasing Dude and Gil around the grassy field._

_Fairy Godmother was not sure why babysitting Dude required_ every _pirate to run around the common area in the middle of break, but she just shrugged and went back to her phone call with Wonderland High. They didn’t seem to be in any trouble. In fact, they were the most Good they had been since they arrived._

Uma’s magic never stopped beating in her chest, but now she used it to cheat in tag and make Dude the coolest dog toys. Yeah. Maybe it wasn’t Good, not yet, but she finally felt at home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have emerged from the void~
> 
> Harry's chapter coming soon...
> 
> (What could he have possibly been writing in his notebook at the end???)
> 
> Comments appreciated :D


	3. Harry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry ponders his life on the Isle.

     Harry Hook had, on the Isle, been identifiable by his overuse of eyeliner, his flirtatious grin, and his shiny metal hook. Nowadays, his makeup was just as dramatic, his smiles just as seductive (but only when aimed at a certain pair of pirates), and his hook… well…

     "King” Ben (though as far as Harry could tell he hadn’t done anything to earn that title) had decided to let him keep the hook when he came to Auradon. Like with their pirate ship which Uma kept docked in Auradon’s port, Ben figured he’d be less likely to lash out if he was allowed to keep some semblance of his past self. It was a careful balance, forcing them to be part of Auradon society but letting them keep some of the Isle. Plus, he’d heard something about a deal that Uma had made that allowed them to eat. Something about attending classes? Harry wasn’t sure why she went along with it, she could conquer the world if she wanted to, but when he saw the way Gil’s face lit up in class when he had the right answer, Harry thought he knew.

     Anyway. The hook. “King” Ben must have seen his attachment to it on the Isle and decided that it wasn’t dangerous enough to take away. It was supposed to make him feel more comfortable, but... the hook wasn’t really him, anymore.

          A list of things the hook helped with:

1\. Scaring people.

2\. Dragging Gil outside when he made Uma look bad in front of the crew (again).

3\. Threatening “King” Ben.

4\. Surviving when “King” Ben takes away Gil and leaves you and all your shattered hopes and dreams on a shipwrecked pirate ship with territory to defend.

((+5. Misguidedly trying to make his father proud, though he won’t admit to it when pressed. The hook just makes him look cool, that’s all.))

          A list of things having the hook made more difficult:

1\. Hugging

2\. Holding Uma and Gil’s hands at the same time while dragging them to see him perform in the school musical, “Of Mice and Cinderella”.

3\. Eating all the delicious Auradon food (you’re expected to hold your knife and fork at the same time? Which he can’t do?? While wearing his hook???)

4\. Talking to teachers without them looking like you murdered their pet cat. (Harry liked cats, so that would have offended him the most if he actually cared about their opinions.)

((+5. Moving on from the tortured, difficult life of the Isle and focusing on what he wants to do rather than what will please his father.))

     The hook had too many bad memories now…

     He had jumped into shark-infested waters just to save it, once. Now, it just reminded him of Gil’s hand pulling away from his own as he got into that sleek, pitch black limousine. Or of the weeks he spent scrubbing the ship from top to bottom, hook carefully set off to the side, trying to make something that Uma would be proud to come back to. Or of his father, who showed up in the harbor one evening and nearly murdered him. His hook had been of no use then.

     “You are not my son,” his father had shouted, waving his hook dangerously close to Harry’s neck. The sharpened point was already dripping with blood. “You are a coward and a fool, a pirate without a boat or a captain.”

     “I don’t care!” Harry said, “I will never join your crew. You don’t care about me. Uma has gained more loyalty than you ever will, you foul leech!”

     His words did nothing. Captain Hook merely gave another derogatory sneer and walked away, refusing to even give Harry the dignity of an argument. He ordered his men to throw their food supply overboard and left his son gaping as the month’s supply of garbage food tumbled off the prow and into the murky water below.

    “May this teach you to stop being a whiny, sniveling brat. Now you and your so-called “crew” can know what it’s like to insult Captain Hook.”

     Harry had always thought that he wore the hook for protection. And, at first, it did the job well. But it didn’t protect him from his father and it didn’t keep them from taking Gil. It couldn’t bring Uma back. She was out there, somewhere in the ocean, plotting. He just had to wait…

     He missed her.

     Shaking his head, Harry glanced around at the ship from where it was docked in Auradon’s harbor. He was here now, Captain Hook still stuck on the Isle. Uma off… plotting, as usual, but safe. Gil was probably in either the galley or the library, depending on whether he had a lesson that day. He sighed, opened his notebook, and began to write.

     Left alone on the Isle, poetry had become his solace. He wrote haikus to try and capture the beauty of the sunset sea, limericks to try and put a smile back on his crews' faces, odes because he could not stop longing for the past to return again. And, while Captain Hook had one of the largest literature collections on the Isle, he absolutely despised poetry. Sometimes, in dark alleyways, Harry had heard rumors of a woman, a poet (his mother, he dared to hope when he had imbibed too much rum).

     His father hated poetry. His father hated him. It fit.

 

someday i will forget

when the ocean breeze stops smelling of saltwater

and the last of the seashells wash up on the shore

picked up by the "King" for another display that

honors the sea

 

it feels like the sea will disappear if i stop looking at it for too long

sea stealing breath

breathless

someday maybe I will forget that island

floating like black tar in the blue-green wild

of my memory

 

but my skin will still be stained and scarred

years i spent fighting, working

to make it to the sea someday

 

someday

the sea might leave too

they've found happiness here too

on land

 

so maybe they'll forget me

like i want to forget my own unhappy memories

and let their dreams of the ocean

like seashells

wash up on the sand.

 

     Harry closed his notebook and glanced up, suddenly feeling that he was no longer alone. Uma, across the pier with a paddle in her hand, Gil by her side grinning like he had never known darkness. Next to them, a small rowboat with a picnic basket floated gently in the water. Harry Hook, stood up, let his notebook fall to the floor beside him, and went home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Hopefully I'll have more time now to write more, this has been tons of fun. 
> 
> ~umaspirateship


End file.
